Next Volvo XC60 Will Steer Itself Out of Danger

Mar 01, 2017Madeline HaynesComments Off on Next Volvo XC60 Will Steer Itself Out of Danger

Sure you’ve heard of automatic braking. By now that tech is seemingly becoming a standard add-on option. (It will be mandatory in almost all new cars by 2022.) So attempting to stay ahead of the safety curve, Volvo is rolling out three new or updated City Safety features on the redesigned 2018 XC60.

Steering Assist

One big new feature is actual steering support. In other words, the car will steer clear of obstacles in its path, if you don’t happen to do so yourself and if automatic braking doesn’t do the trick. (If this sounds like a hop, skip and jump away from autonomous driving it is.) It’s active between 31 and 62 mph.

Oncoming Lane Mitigation

Frontal collision warning with auto-braking integrates automatic steering, too. Volvo calls the feature Oncoming Lane Mitigation. It helps you avoid a head-on collision by sensing when you drift out of a lane. If that happens, it won’t just alert you. It will now steer you back into your lane. Since it works at highway speed it really will serve a practical purpose in improving safety. Ideally, as this tech spreads and improves, it will end those deadly head-ons.

Blind-Spot Warning

There is also an update to Volvo’s optional blind-spot system. No longer will the tech just warn you when something is in a blind spot. Now it also steers drivers away from danger and back into their own lane.

2018 XC60

Volvo says the new and updated safety technologies will make the XC60 one of the safest cars on the road. It cites a nearly 45 percent reduction in rear-end frontal crashes in Sweden. The redesigned XC60, which is Volvo’s global best-seller, will debut at the Geneva Auto Show in early March. On the spectrum of none to fully autonomous driving, this model takes another step towards full auto-pilot.